Maybe the biggest takeaway surrounding Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes entering 2026 is that nobody seems to agree on what Colorado actually is anymore.
One national outlet sees the Buffs as barely better than the bottom tier of FBS football.
Another sees Colorado as a dangerous middle-of-the-pack team capable of surprising people.
USA TODAY Sports recently dropped Colorado all the way to No. 107 in its post-spring 1-138 rankings. Not No. 47. Not No. 67.
No. 107.
Meanwhile, CBS Sports placed Colorado at No. 73 nationally in its own rankings. That still reflects skepticism surrounding the Buffs entering Year 4 under Sanders, but it at least feels grounded somewhere in reality.
Because whether people love Coach Prime or are exhausted by the nonstop attention surrounding him, the idea that more than 100 college football teams are truly better positioned than Colorado entering the season feels difficult to defend.
More than 100?
To be fair, there are legitimate concerns surrounding Colorado entering the season.
The biggest reason for skepticism is simple: almost everybody who mattered for the Buffs last season is gone.
Outside of wide receiver Joseph Williams and five-star quarterback Julian Lewis, Colorado lost a massive portion of its major contributors through the NFL Draft, graduation and the transfer portal. Departures include Jordan Seaton to LSU, DJ McKinney to Notre Dame, Dre’lon Miller to Baylor, Omarion Miller to Arizona State, Tawfiq Byard to Texas A&M, Brandon Davis-Swain to Texas A&M, London Merritt to Clemson and Tawfiq Thomas to Georgia Tech.
The offensive line still has to prove itself. The schedule remains difficult. There are legitimate questions about depth, chemistry and whether Colorado can avoid taking a step backward after another roster overhaul.
Those concerns are fair. But Colorado also attacked the portal aggressively once again.
The Buffs brought in players like Boo Carter from Tennessee, DeAndre Moore Jr. from Texas, Santana Hopper from Tulane and Liona Lefau from Texas. Several of those additions arrive in Boulder with real NFL aspirations and expectations of becoming immediate contributors. Carter especially feels like the kind of player capable of quickly becoming one of the faces of Colorado’s defense if his transition goes smoothly.
That is part of what makes Colorado so difficult to evaluate. Programs ranked in the 100 range nationally are usually invisible. Colorado is the exact opposite.
Every position battle becomes national news. Every recruiting addition trends online. Every Colorado game still feels like an event, whether people are rooting for the Buffs or rooting against them.
Nobody really knows what Colorado can do in 2026.
And honestly, maybe CBS Sports has the better read on the situation.
Colorado at No. 73 nationally feels reasonable. Aggressive skeptics can still argue the Buffs are overrated, while supporters can point to the roster talent and upside Sanders continues to bring into Boulder.
That ranking reflects what Colorado probably is entering the season: volatile.
The Buffs could absolutely disappoint. But they could also beat ranked teams, become one of the biggest stories in the sport by October and force everyone to rethink Colorado all over again.
You can question Colorado. You can doubt the roster transition. if the argument is that more than 100 college football teams are better than Coach Prime’s program entering 2026, college football may be overthinking Colorado once again.
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